Crimson
by LustForTheLetters
Summary: Shion notices a different story inside Nezumi's library, and he might be surprised with what he finds. Shion/Nezumi Oneshot. Complete


He was scrambling to get a good read in

It wasn't as though he was lonely. After all, there were the rats to keep him company. However, Nezumi was working again that night, and Shion found himself practically dying of boredom. Washing dogs all day really did tire someone out, and with all of the fleas? The silver haired boy wasn't sure how he could cope.

"Isn't there anything new to read...?" He whispered, pulling out book by book to see nothing but dusty covers of titles he had already read. There was the classical Hamlet that he read at least twenty times, and then there was the others: King Lear, Macbeth, Anthony and Cleopatra. All of these Shakespearean plays were the first to be seen from Nezumi's collection, and Shion was soon about to give up when a slimmer book appeared at the end of the shelf.

The spine was inprinted in golden letters and fine fabric, so without hesitation, the boy's curiosity overtook him, and he took it out.

_Romeo and Juliet._

"Romeo...and Juliet?" Shion flipped open the book to find an enormous amount of dust had collected inside of it, and he coughed before analyzing the pages. He knew that this book must have been older than the others, and from the way that it was pushed so far back in the hundreds of books his friend had, he assumed that Nezumi didn't take much to liking to this story. Regardless, even the title of the piece sounded so poetic that he wanted to give it a try.

Sitting down on the couch and flipping to a random spot, he read about the scene where a boy named Romeo came over to the Capulet's household, and where he spoke to a woman named Juliet in a lovely manner.

"It is East...and Juliet is the sun?" Shion whispered to himself as the words played out, and he soon became warped into the feuding families and the star-crossed forbidden love. He didn't even realize that the time was flying past him and the beauty of the story had completely taken over him. In fact, the boy found himself reading out loud the story as he became more and more mesmerized.

"My only love sprung from my only hate!  
Too early seen unknown, and known too late!  
Prodigious birth of love it is to me,  
That I must love a loathed enemy."

Shion smiled to himself at this particular line, although he was not sure why. His heart lurched at the misery of the Capulet girl, and how he felt sympathy for a love that could never be due to the fate of their lives.

"Why is it that whenever you meet someone you love, something is bound to try to break you apart..?"

"Because life shows no pity to those who are truly happy."

Shion's eyes widened as he saw Nezumi leaning against the door to their room with a smirk on his face. He must have just gotten back from performing that night, and it took a minute for Shion to realize what he was holding in his hands.

"You-You're back! Welcome back, I didn't expect you to be coming back so early!" The boy stuttered, shaking his hands frantically as though he was pure and innocent. However, Nezumi knew better.

"I'm back normal curfew...I think you were just too into the story to realize how fast time was slipping away. Of course, don't we all love it when stories can pull us in like that?" The taller boy sat besides his friend and smirked. "And of all things, Romeo and Juliet...I am honestly surprised you managed to get that. I couldn't even find it when I tried looking."

"It...it was in the back of the shelf. There was dirt and everything all over it! You really need to learn to keep your stuff organized!" Shion blushed at the limited distance between the two of them, and he rubbed his hand on the back of his neck.

"Hm, I do? Well forgive me, your majesty." Nezumi laughed as Shion could only scoff at his apology. "I didn't think you would be into this kind of romance though...I mean, with all the violence in it, you would probably be screaming for your mommy to come and get you."

"I didn't read it for the violence! I read it because...well, the two characters seemed..." Shion grew deathly quiet, and Nezumi tilted his head to the side in confusion.

"The two characters...?"

"They were in a forbidden love, and it was so sad because their families were at war...they would never be together! Why would Shakespeare write about a romance when the two lovers can't even truly be together?"

Nezumi chuckled and ran his hand through Shion's hair. It was soft and silky to the touch.

"Well...that's just what makes it interesting. After all, the person you fall in love with could be your worst enemy...isn't that what you just read out loud, Shion?"

Shion felt his body grow warm from how much closer Nezumi was to him, and those blue eyes seemed to cut right through him. Oh yes, he knew what it felt like to be in that dilema, and he watched as his friend pressed his thumb to his mouth.

"Is crimson in thy lips and in thy cheeks..." He whispered, leaning in and closing the gap between the two of them. The warmth that Shion felt before was quickly turning ablaze, and as he kissed back, the book he held in one hand dropped onto the floor.

* * *

The flame had began to go out, and Nezumi watched as Shion fell asleep. He looked from a distance at the sleeping boy and he smiled lightly at how adorable he looked. Picking up the book and placing it back on the table, he leaned down and whispered something lightly into Shion's ear.

"Parting is such sweet sorrow..."

It was then that the room turned into a darkness that only a crimson love could contain.

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys! So I absolutely ADORED this anime so I thought writing fanfiction for it would be appropriate...tell me what you thought! :) For my first fanfiction for this fandom, did I do a decent job of it? :)**


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